Honeyed Pasture eldorado

it's green-gold as far as the eye can see. and as far as Avicus is concerned, it's paradise.

the glacier holds no promise. no creature in their right mind goes there for sustenance, even if the rocks hold relative security. nothing grows, nothing thrives. but here!

the red girl emerges from the crypt, striding down to the long grasses. disappears within them, the bees and bugs fluttering 'round her face. ears twitch at nibbling flies, the brush streaking across her too-visible ribs, tangling in her matted fur—

she's not felt this alive since the moonwoman had taken her tongue.

said tongue, the missing portion now scabbed over, swipes across her lips. she smells prey. and as she reaches the top of a hillock that allows her a more complete view of the prairie, she sees deer.

deer. and water, and flowers, and. . .

limping along with her still-healing ankle, she begins to descend, eyes narrowed as she tries to pick out the weakest link from the bunch.

His last hunt was over a week ago and it had invigorated him. The first time he had worked toward a meal knowing that his survival and hunger depended on it. While he was in Rivenwood, a missed hunt simply meant leftover meat from the cache, but out here with no one to care and provide for him if he were to fail the stakes were higher.

Days prior he had been on the mountain's tip and saw this golden pasture from above. It looked plentiful and full of life, and he hoped prey. The grasses here were tall but not tall enough to hide Calcifer's full form. He slowly walked through the grass and allowed it to part around him, with his head down and legs bent to keep below the grass line. 

The existence of prey was plentiful. Flattened areas in the grass where herds had taken moments of rest. Several trails shapen throughout, and scat, some old and... some new. Taking a whiff of the excrement he could identify it to be deer, and recent. A few hours or so. He followed the scent for a short time before he heard rustling and froze in her tracks.

Could it be the deer close by, or another creature hidden amongst the grass.

she thinks he's a bear at first, and is set ablaze, caught off-guard. bristling, nearly spitting like a cat, her auburn pelt raised along her spine.

only when his obviously canine scent reaches her nostrils does she relax, and even then just a tad.

Avicus cocks her head in silent question. who are you? her eyes demand. and will you be of use to me?

his great stature could only aid in taking down a deer, but she wonders whether he'd be fast enough to keep up; surely his bulk would weigh him down.

perhaps they both could eat today. although she thinks he could swallow an entire doe whole, what with the size of him.

Then the source of the rustling made itself know. It was a medium-sized female, from the smell of her, with dark brown coloration. Her expression was not that of pleasantly but of curiosity and business. She was too far away for him to speak to her without potentially risking any nearby prey from hearing. 

A large and enthusiastic grin came across Calcifer's face. He wouldn't help it. He had seen a new individual and a new person to interact with. He may have looked a bit goofy but there would be no confusion that he intended to be friendly towards her.

She too was hiding within the grasses, likely hunting as well. They would work together, but how would they communicate that? Calcifer was large and powerful. Good for taking down a deer, but only able to run at roughly 20-25 miles an hour he suspected the prey could outrun him if a chase were to ensure. Unless of course there were to be driven towards him, or a weak and or young individual were in the group. He thought of all of this as he gestured towards her.

it will have to be as it was with Karst. she understands. she catches his gesture and nods, then slips away, a fiery sylph through the grasses, edging toward the deer with silent precision.

she makes a wide sweep around them and then cuts abruptly toward the deer, streaking across the plains, a red, snarling banshee.

they take off with bleats and stamping of hooves, eyes rolling back to show the whites. off they go and up, thankfully, toward the giant. he will be waiting.

Avicus will continue to drive them forward.

the hunt is on; she can feel the inexorable and inevitable in her heart, her veins.

She acknowledged his gesture then slips away through the grass. He doesn't imagine she can read his mind but hoped they share similar strategic thinking. Whatever was going on in her head, he would have to follow as her taking the first movements through the grass meant she would be the lead. He tried to follow her as she moved through the long grass and often times she was out of sight to himself and their prey.

Then the commotion started a small stampede began as the herd ran from a perceived threat that Calcifer assumed was his female hunting companion. At first, it appeared as though there were scattering, jumping, and running in any direction they could away from the red wolf. But after the first initial moments of frenzy, they started to come together and move as one.

There was one however who took the longest to regroup and lagged behind the herd. It was closest to the red wolf and was focused on the fleeing herd inform of it. This was Calcifer's target. He stayed low and let the front runners of the herd run past him, the few that came close saw him and quickly veered out of the way to avoid his presence, and luckily keep their heavy hooves with them. A potentially injuring encounter avoided. Luck was on his side.

Then he burst out from the grass and roared like a bear just as the straggler deer came near. It was startled and tried to turn around, stumbling over its long legs. It fell and tried to get up, but as it did it saw the red wolf approaching and knew it was pinned. It tried to run to the side but Calcifer jumped up onto its back and took hold of its shoulder blades, just shy of the back of its neck.

she'd known he was big enough for the quarry. she watches his pursuit, hunched down in the tall grasses. once he's onto the back, she charges forward, a ruddy blur upon the field—

leaping, reaching for the throat. her fangs slash but not catch, and she hits the ground with a small shower of blood upon the crown of her head.

Avicus grunts loudly, ordering him to finish off the deer. 

she writhes, trying to reach the fleshy bits. but the hooves are too close for comfort, and she dodges their knife-like edges, unwilling to take more injury than she's suffered lately. 

no, he'll have to make the killing blow.

her eyes burn toward him, insistent.